Liberians have reason to be restless

President George Manneh Weah sounded not only enraged, but combative Sunday, 30 September upon his return to the country from New York when he ranted threats and near invectives against Liberians for protesting and calling on the international community to hut aids to his government, until the US$16 billion Liberian banknotes that allegedly went missing can be accounted for.

Making remarks at the Dominion Christian Fellowship Central Church along Tubman Boulevard during an intercessory service held for his safe arrival from the 73rd U.N. General Assembly, President Weah roared and fumed about citizens not exercising patience to allow ongoing investigation to be concluded to bring those responsible to book.

“Campaign is over. Whether it is [Liberty Party] partisan, the Unity [Party] partisan that went into the street and for people saying that money lost … that was the wrong thing to do because you put people’s children in jeopardy,” he says.

But before the President mounted the pulpit and spoke, Archbishop Dr. Isaac S. Winker of the Dominion Christian Fellowship Central Church in a brief exhortation called on President Weah to expedite the ongoing probe and come out with findings to the Liberian people, warning, “This money issue Mr. President, should not be swept under the carpet. The Liberian people want to know what happened to the money.”

When issue of such huge magnitude engulfs our nation like the current case regarding the missing 16 billion Liberian dollars, citizens have right and reason to be concerned just as the rest of the world is because it is their wellbeing and joy that is at stake.

How else could they have expressed their concern other than thru peaceful protest like they did on Monday, 24 September? Should they ignore such grave matter that affects their destiny as a nation? No!

The Holy Bible that all Christians subscribe to reminds us that the voice of man is the voice of God, meaning when the people rise up for matters that threaten their survival, it is God speaking; therefore, the leader should listen with humility and act accordingly.

Even Archbishop Winker is concerned when he told the President right in his face at the intercessory service that investigation surrounding the alleged missing 16 billion Liberian banknotes should not be swept under the rug, speaking from experience of past investigations by previous Liberian administrations that were inconclusive, such as the issue of the Japanese grant to Liberia and the appearance of a strange vessel on the shores of Liberia, among others.

So, President Weah should be reminded that no one is accusing him personally of squandering the missing “containers and bags of moneys”, but as Head of State, he must account thru his government, because these are public moneys. And this is the demand of the Liberian people as expressed in their recent peaceful protest.

Liberians, whether members of opposition political parties or not, peacefully demanding their government to account for moneys printed abroad, brought into the country, and allegedly missing should never be misconstrued as enemies of the President or his government. It is their right to do so, because they have a national stake in the matter at hand.